Stalled after raising my calorie from 1200

It's natural for your bosy to not lose weight every week - weight fluctuates naturally.

You need to give any change in calories time to work - at least 4 weeks - one week is not enough. If you have only been eating 1200 cals a day your body might be desperate for calories - so when it got a few more it held on to them.

Why did you pick 1200 cals? - do you eat back your exercise calories? Most people can lose weight eating a much higher number per day. MFP tends to give all women 1200 cals if they pick 2lbs as their weight loss target.

I'm 5'2 and losing on 1600 - 1800 cals a day.

This is a good thread to read for more information on how to pick your calories.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

don't go back down. give it a week or two for your metabolism to readjust.

Well, I upped my calorie intake from 1200 to 1400 last week. Even though I was losing about 1 1/2 pounds a week from the 1200. But I kept reading all the MFP threads about 1200 not being enough to sustain you. But and I didn't lose even .1 of a pound, or any inches. I'm going back to 1200. I'm 123 pounds right now and exercise everyday. Do you think if I'm eating healthy foods about every 3 hours at 1200 a day that my body will really go into starvation mode? Is anyone else losing and doing just fine at 1200?

ETA: I meant I weigh *223* pounds.

Starvation mode is mostly misinterpreted and the chance that anyone metabolism slows enough to meet their lowered calorie intake, especially in the face of plentiful stored energy is highly doubtful, and generally not recording their intake properly is more than likely the reason for the stall. I agree with others that are saying 1 week is not enough time....with your current weight 1400 should still be deficit territory.

Take an empty gallon jug, and fill it with water.

Weigh yourself on the scale, and then weigh yourself AGAIN holding the gallon of water.

Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon.

That's 2 pounds per quart

or 1 pound per 16 ounce large glass of water.

This is why weight loss shows like The biggest loser Dehydrate the contestants before the weigh in, making them sweat off as much water as possible.. because being hydrated can mask any changes in bodyfat composition. If you're slightly more hydrated than your last weigh in, or if you had more salt in your last meal, your body will have more water in it. (salt and water maintain a balance, a ratio in your body, so if you eat more salt, your body will retain more water to maintain the proper ratios)

You can't weigh in daily if you want to see a real change, because daily weighing only shows you changes in how much you WEIGH, not in how much fat you have. Food weighs too.. so if you think about it.... many different factors play a role in how much you WEIGH.

Ask yourself if, generally, you feel slightly hungry most of the time, or if you feel fine most of the time. The body has ways of telling you that it's hungry - or put another way - is in a calorie deficit.

if it was working why change?

I lose just fine at 1100kcal per day, as long as I eat fairly regularly and do exercise. But I am quite short so (5ft 1) so I think I have a lower calorie requirement than a lot of people!

no sweetie, no you don't. I'm only an inch taller than you, and twice your age, and my calorie requirement is a lot more than that, just to keep my body functioning. You need to eat more, or you're going to cause metabolic damage to yourself.

PS-- take photos too. I found that when I first measured I pulled the tape measure pretty tight so I wouldn't feel bad about myself, and so when I remeasured I had only lost about an inch, but when I took a photo and compared there was a significant difference (see profile pic)